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J. W. MEAKEIL,- 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patem'No. 73,911, ma January 2s, isos.

IMPROVEMENT IN 'APPARATUS FOR COUNTING MONY.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY QONCERN: p

Be it knownthat I, J. W. MEAKER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain newvand useful Apparatus for Assorting, Holding, and Registering Coin; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,`and exact description th ereof,`rei`erencc being had tothe accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever `they occur. l Y

To enable others skilled in the art to construct and use my invention, I `will proceed to describe it.

My invention consists in a novel device' for asserting, holding, and registering coin, to be used in business transactions in banks, and wherever money is received and paid' out; and also in a devicefor holding currency, to be used in connection with the coin-apparatus when desired.

Figure 1 is a front elevatic'l.

Figure 2 is a vertical section, taken on the line :c :u of iig. 1.

Figure 3 is a rearview of aportion of the assorter, with a portion removed to show the interior.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a portion; -aud Figures 7, 8, and 9 are views representing modifications ofthe devices for removing the coin.

In constructing my apparatus, I provide a. body, A, in which is formed a series of vertical tubes, of a diameter internally corresponding with the coins of the various denominations to be used. In these tubes is placed a sliding plate or follower, Z, supported by a spring, b, and havingatt-ached to it, at its front, a thumb-piece, t, with an index or pointer, o, these latter being connected to the follower Zby projecting through a. vertical slot in the front of the tubes, as shown in figs. l and 2. Upon ,the front ofthe tubes, and` flush with their upper ends, is secured a small shelf or plate, G, and between each of the tubes, above their upper ends, is secured a small division piece, e, of a thickness corresponding ,with that oi' the various coins, and upon these is secured' a plate, F, having circular recesses c'ut in its front edge, slightly less in diameter than the tubes, so that when the coin is raised by the spring and follower to the top of the tubes,'theedge of the circular recesses in the'plate F will slightly project over the coin and prevent itfrom being raised up out of thetubcs, as shown in o. 4. Upon the front of each tube -ismarlied ascries o f points .or graduations corresponding with the thickness of the coins, so as to indicate the number that each tube will hold, and these graduationsare divided into series or groups, numbered by figures, arranged dccimally, or otherwise, as may be desired, the index or pointer o always indicating at a glance the exact number contained in any tube, the index being caused by spring b to rise as the coins are removed, as hereinafter explained.

`The coins may be inserted singly by depressing the follower and shoving'thcm in sidewise at' the top, and letting them fall down untilthe tube is lled, but to facilitate the operation of lling them, I'provide an apparatus which I term an assorter, and by which the vvarious coins, when placed into one c'onmcn'hoppenwill be automatically assorted and delivered separately to their proper tubes.- This device is represented by B in the drawings, and consists of a box having its front standing nearly vertical'with its bottom, and rear side slightly inclined, as shown in tig.` 2. In the interior of thisA box is a. divis ion-plate, L, upon the rear side of which issecured a strip, a, slightly thicker than the coin, this strip abcing inclined downward from the hopper D toward the opposite end, thus forming an inclined way upon which the coin rolls gradually down towards its lower end, .as shown clearly in g. 3. In the division-plate L is cut a series of holes, corresponding in size to the lvc'rious sized coins, the smallesthole being located next to the hopper or upper end, the holes increasing iu size-successivcly in regular'order to the Alower end. At theupper end of the inclined way is located a. hopper or mouth, I), of proper size to permit the coin to slide in edgewisc, and on the rear of the box B issecured a plate, T, which prevents -the coin from yfalling over, and keeps it leaning against the rear side of the plate L. New, when coins'are placedin the hopper, they will slide down on .to the inclinedstrip a, upon which they roll on their edge until they arrive opposite a hole in the plate L'of suiheient size tolpermit'the coin to drop through, whcn'it will fall upon the inclined bottom n, from whence it will slide under the plate F in to the tube below. When a coin is started down the inclined way a, 'it' it be a small'one, it will drop through the first hole, but if too-large for that, it will pass on until it arrives opposite a hole that is large enough to let it fall through, and lthus each coin is delivered at the proper point to enter its proper tube, there-.being divisionfplatesto prevent the coin from becoming mixed after `they enter the box through the holes in plate L, which division-plates serve to guideth'e coins to their. proper tubes.

The ,coin being thus assorted and placed in the separate tubes, can be used as desired by simply placing the finger on'the upper one, 'in any one or more of the tubes and drawing them forward en tothe shelf G,`thc springs b instantly shoving others up' into their places, ready to be drawn oli' in like manner.

Various modifications-may he used for removing 'the coins from the tubes. If preferred, instead of the tubes, a. series of semicircular troughs, "las represented in tig. 9, may be arranged side by side`, toureceive 'and hold the coin, these troughs beingfinelined, as represented in tig, 7, sutlciently' to cause the coin toslidc down therein, there being a. weight or, follower, r, placed behind the column of coin in the trough, to prevent them from falling over, the graduation and index beingusedas before. At the lower end of the trough is placed a.

gate, I, having a hole throug'h it of a size corresponding with the size of the coin, as shown in section in tig. 8,

this gate-being arranged to slide vertically, and held up by a spring, so that when released Vfrom pressure it will rise to a-positio'n to bring the hole in itoppositethe mouth 4of the' trough. :In front ot' the gate is secured a plate or strip,k, having its lower edge project .slghtly'over the upper edge of the hole in the slide or gate I, so that a coin which enters the hole will be preventedfrom falling through until the gate is depressed far enough to let the upperv edge of the coin pass out underthe plate k. To prevent t'helower edge of the 'coin from accidentally slipping out, asmall projection orlip is formed on l'the lower portionof the gate, se as to project up slightly in front of the hole, as representedvby p, iig. 8. The gate will 'of course becmade ot' u thickness corresponding with that of the coin, so that when a coin slides into the holein the gate,.it will-juist ll it and permit the gate to be depressed without catching on the next coin in the rear. As soon as the gate returns toits position opposite `the mouth of the'trough, another coin will slip into the bolug-and thus the operation may be repeated until the supply of eoinis exhausted.

Incase it be'desired tousethe assorter'with the device last described, it will be applied at the upper end ofthe troughs, and the followers being removed, the-troughs may then be' elevated to a nearly vertical position,` and thus filled. While an apparatus constructed on these modified plans maybe made to answer the desired purpose, still I prefer that previously described, as'being best adapted to the uses intended.

For convenience, when paper money is-to be used, I mount the coin-apparatus on a box, C, having` it, series of lids, m, piveted at one-end,- their opposite end being pressed up against an overlapping piece, u, so that by depressing tlreloose end otV the lid theV end ot' paper bills may be inserted between it and the overlapping piece u, and thus be held securely in place. When wanted for use, the4 top one ot' the pile may be readily drawn out' by'taking hold of its loose end and giving it a sudden pull.. Of-coursetherewill be as many of these lids as there are different denominations et bills to be used. Where paper money is not used, this pai-tof the' apparatus may be' omitted,land the coindevice usedalone.. i

' My improved device may be made of any desired size, and is equally well adapted for coins of all kinds and denominations, whether gold, silver, or copper. It is especially adapted to the wants of banks and similar institutions, but may also be used in stores, railway and other oiices, where money'is to be paid out or change required to be made. By making a. record of the amount in it at the beginning of the day's operations, and

again at the close thereof--which amounts can be determined by a glance at the indexes or registers-the amount paid out during the day can be readily ascertained -with absolute certainty@ By having tufo ot' the holding and registering-devices, and arranging the assorter so that itcan be shifted from one to the other, one may be used-.to receive the coin paidin and the other to pay from,.and thus the two together will accurately register and. indicate the receipts and payments during the day, the two being used alternately to receive and pay from.

By the use ot' my improvements much saving ot both time land labor is eieeted, and the. business more accurately as well as more speedily accomplished. y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, is

1. A series .of tubes, of varying diameters,'to suit different-sized coins, and provided with' graduations corresponding with the varying thickness of diieren't coins,` and numbers to indicate the amount contained in 'each tube.

2. A coin-assorter, consisting of an inclined way for the coin to-pass down, with openings corresponding in size with the various-sized coins, said openings being arranged with the smallest at the upper endpf'the inclined way,^a ud increasing in size in regular order towards the lower end, with partitions orgudesto directtho various coins to their* respective receptacles, substantially as described. v v

4. The yielding 'bed m, pivoted at one end, in combination with the stationary support a, arranged as and for lthe purpose set forth. Y t i J. lli MEAKER.

Witnesses:

` P. T. Denen,

AIM. OLDS. 

